Unraveling the Tragic Intrigue: An In-Depth Analysis of Thomas Otway's 'Venice Preserved' - englit.in
Venice Preserv'd is an English Restoration play written by Thomas Otway, and the most significant tragedy of the English stage in the 1680s. It was first premiered in 1682, with Thomas Betterton as Jaffeir and Elizabeth Barry as Belvidera. The play was soon printed and enjoyed many revivals through to the 1830s. It tells the story of Jaffeir, who becomes embroiled in a conspiracy to overthrow the corrupt Senate of Venice. This decision leads to conflicts with his lover Belvidera and his friend Pierre's complicated relationship with a courtesan. In 2019, the Royal Shakespeare Company staged a modern adaptation, Venice Preserved, at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon. The story of "Venice Preserved" is partly founded upon St. Real's History of the Conspiracy of the Spaniards against the Republic of Venice, in 1618. Thomas Otway's Restoration revenge tragedy draws on motifs of sexual perversion and political corruption. In Prasanna Puwanarajah's fast-paced